Ireland's Kyoto Commitment

Littleton Peat Briquette Factory, Co. Tipperary

Courtesy of Arnold Horner 2006.

Littleton Peat Briquette Factory, Co. Tipperary
Courtesy of Arnold Horner 2006.

Littleton Peat Briquette Factory, Co. Tipperary

Courtesy of Arnold Horner 2006.

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Ireland is currently not on track to meet its commitment under the Paris Agreement, and  is projected to exceed its 2030 targets by approximately 52 ‐ 67 Mt CO2. In order to meet future targets, Ireland needs to develop as a low carbon economy through the implementation of robust and effective climate based policies. More detailed information on Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions projections can be found here.

In quantitative terms, Ireland 's total allowable emissions, or assigned amount in the first Kyoto period, was 314.18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. This converts to an average of 62.8 million tonnes annually for the five years. Significant risk that Ireland will not meet commitments for the second Kyoto period however remains, even under the most ambitious emission reduction scenario. There is projected to be a cumulative distance to target of 7 – 24 Mtonnes for the period 2013-2020 as Ireland breached its annual limits in 2015,2016 and 2017. Strong projected growth in emissions from transport and agriculture are the key contributors to this trend.

Beyond 2020, Ireland does not have a definite policy direction on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 aims to provide a pathway for emissions reductions, in line with negotiated EU 2020 targets.

Each year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculates the actual emissions for the entire country. The latest report on greenhouse gas emissions for the EPA is available here. The emission trends within the various sectors of the Irish economy are shown on the following pages.